On May 29, 34 year old Rosa King died Monday at Hamerton Zoo Park in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire after a tiger entered the enclosure where she was working.  The zoo described the incident as a freak accident.

The zoo authorities said the animal was unharmed, adding, “The zoo will make a decision about the future of the tiger.”

Nicola O’Brien, campaign director at the Captive Animals Protection Society urged the zoo not to kill the animal. “You cannot blame a wild animal for doing what it does naturally. It shouldn’t have been in that position. It’s just horrific that a member of staff got killed on Monday,” she said.

An online petition is urging the zoo to not kill the tiger because it acted “only as its instinct tells it”. The petition gained more than 1,000 signatures.

In 2013 another tiger that killed a zookeeper in 2013 at South Lakes Wild Animal Park, in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria was euthanized after the attack. The family of the 24-year-old victim, Sarah McClay said she would not have wanted the animal to be killed.

Hamerton Zoo Park, which remains closed, released a statement on Wednesday expressing its deepest condolences to the family and friends of King. People described her as an invaluable and highly respected member of its team. Tributes to the keeper, described as the “shining light” of the zoo, were led by her mother.